In recent years, on the strength of being thin and having a low power consumption, liquid crystal display devices are broadly used in laptop-type personal computers, mobile phones, information devices such as electronic organizers, camera-integrated VTRs having a liquid crystal monitor, and the like.
As a display mode which can realize a high contrast and a wide viewing angle, a vertical alignment mode utilizing a vertical-alignment type liquid crystal layer is drawing attention. In general, a vertical-alignment type liquid crystal layer is formed by using a liquid crystal material having negative dielectric anisotropy and vertical alignment films.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a liquid crystal display device whose viewing angle characteristics are improved by allowing an oblique electric field to be generated near an aperture that is provided in a counter electrode, and around a liquid crystal molecule within the aperture which is in a vertical alignment state, allowing the surrounding liquid crystal molecules to take an inclined orientation.
However, with the construction described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to form an oblique electric field across the entire region within the pixel. This leads to a problem in that regions in which the liquid crystal molecules have a slow response to voltage occur within the pixel, thus causing an afterimage phenomenon.
In order to solve this problem, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which, regularly-arranged apertures are provided in the pixel electrode or the counter electrode to form a plurality of liquid crystal domains exhibiting axisymmetric orientation within the pixel.
Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique of providing an auxiliary electrode for stably performing orientation control with an oblique electric field on an active matrix substrate. This auxiliary electrode is provided in a position corresponding to a slit which is formed in a pixel electrode. Moreover, this auxiliary electrode is formed integrally with a storage capacitor electrode for constituting a storage capacitor, and is formed concurrently with and from the same metal film as the gate lines, in a step of forming the gate lines.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-301036    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-47217    [Patent Document 3] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-184334